Organize the South

The Sunday Paper recently ran an open letter from Sgt. Scott Kreher. Sgt Kreher is president of the police union and a veteran of the Atlanta Police Department. After reading the letter I had some questions I would like to ask Sgt. Kreher. An edited version of this letter will be published, maybe, in The Sunday Paper this coming Sunday, November 15.

Dear Sgt. Scott Kreher:

I recently read your letter to the Atlanta mayoral candidates, “Save Our Cops: An open letter to Atlanta's next mayor.” In your letter you mention that in order “save our cops” the city should implement certain changes including pay raises, tuition reimbursement, and other steps to help reduce police turnover.

Based on your letter, the best way Atlanta can keep cops seems to be to prevent turnover. That sounds like a good strategy. But your letter is missing a key selling point: what’s in it for the people of Atlanta.

Are more cops the best strategy for insuring public safety? I’m not so sure. There are some things that police are particularly unable to help with. Domestic violence immediately comes to mind. “Most intimate partner victimizations are not reported to the police.” That’s a quote from a report by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. Here’s another quote, “The majority of victims who did not report their victimization to the police thought the police would not or could not do anything on their behalf. These findings suggest that most victims of intimate partner violence do not consider the justice system an appropriate vehicle for resolving conflicts with intimates.”

Can you imagine? Being beaten, threatened, abused every day and refusing to call the police. Why? Because the police bring problems, they don’t solve them.

Here’s my idea. Make a bargain with the people. Be the first police department to submit to civilian control. Why not make a contract with the people of Atlanta; civilian control for better working conditions. Specifically, I’m talking about a civilian review board with the actual power and funding to review the police. Right now Atlanta has a sham board incapable of holding police accountable for their actions. This isn’t the fault of the board. They are good people, but the board just doesn’t have the power to do the job. Given the continuous pattern of violence of the Atlanta police department, a body able to truly investigate misconduct would go a long way to restoring trust.

I know that supporting this idea goes against the tradition of the Atlanta Police Department. I also know that this pattern isn’t limited to the APD. Lots of police departments oppose the idea of a civilian review board. I dare say that the majority are absolutely opposed to the idea of a review board with independent subpoena power. To be honest, I can see the sense of that. If I had the chance to do my job with less supervision, I probably would accept it. If someone wanted to add another boss to my job, I would probably oppose it. Of course, if doing my job kept leading to people being abused and even killed, I wouldn’t doubt that this new boss would be added despite my objections. Back 2008, I believe, the APD opposed the civilian review board holding subpoena powers. Not a year before this the U.S. Attorney said there was a “culture of misconduct” in the department. Sergeant, it’s just quite clear that the Atlanta police need another boss. The current bosses aren’t doing the job.

Fortunately, there are some things the APD can do to redeem itself. First, they can support the demands of Atlanta BLOCS (Building Locally to Organize for Community Safety). The three demands are that the mayor support:

1) Creating a Search Committee to conduct a nationwide search for the next Chief of Police, and guaranteeing that this committee include members of the ACRB and concerned community members;

2) Appointing a police chief who publicly commits to ensuring full cooperation with the ACRB, including the disciplining of officers who refuse to comply; and

3) Calling for, and supporting a full ACRB investigation of the REDDOG unit with a commitment to following the recommendations produced by such an inquiry.

However, I would say this is only a first step. For the APD to really show it deserves support the department, the chief, and the union will have to support a fully funded civilian review board with subpoena power. The funding for the board can come from the same sources you outline in your letter. Towing fees, license enforcement, and better contracting of supplies (quartermastering) sound like a decent way of raising the funds. Personally, I’m willing to go on trust that this will work. The Southern Center for Human Rights has a report on the Atlanta civilian review board, including recommendations to make the board effective. If you and the rest of the police are willing to accept those recommendations, I’m sure the people of Atlanta wouldn’t begrudge you a small pay raise and tuition reimbursement. What do you say? If your answer is no, then what exactly about the APD is worth saving?

Sincerely,

Dan